Philippe Münch

Messinian events: new constraints from sedimentological investigations and new 40Ar/39Ar ages in the Melilla–Nador Basin (Morocco)

Abstract New 40Ar/39Ar ages obtained both from within a platform and from the adjacent basin allow, through the extension of a previous argon dataset, the establishment of a chronological framework for the Messinian carbonate complex of Melilla (Morocco). In the platform, prograding bioclastic deposits began around 6.87±0.02 Ma, whereas the youngest preserved deposits are 5.77±0.04 Ma old. The southern part of the basin was uplifted and emergent prior to 6.23±0.03 Ma. The Tortonian/Messinian and the Messinian/Pliocene boundaries have not yet been identified in the Melilla region. Durations of the prograding bioclastic deposits (ca. 410 ka), the prograding Porites reefs (ca. 360 ka) and the preserved part of the terminal carbonate complex (TCC) (ca. 330 ka) can be estimated. Sedimentological and geochronological investigations do not indicate any major subaerial unconformity nor any major time gap. If a major sea level fall did exist during Messinian times, it developed after 5.77±0.04 Ma. Chronological correlations show that the onset of the Sorbas gypsum deposition (Southern Spain), considered as the marker of the Messinian Salinity Crisis onset, is contemporaneous with aggrading Porites reef building of the terminal carbonate complex of Melilla. A major paleoceanographic change in the marginal areas of the Mediterranean, with the cessation of upwelling systems, could be partly coeval with the onset of the Messinian Salinity Crisis.

Three‐dimensional structural modeling of an active fault zone based on complex outcrop and subsurface data: The Middle Durance Fault Zone inherited from polyphase Meso‐Cenozoic tectonics (southeastern France)

The objective of this study was to realize a three-dimensional (3-D) geological model of the deep basin structure of the Middle Durance region (of folds and faults) by integration of geological and geophysical data, and to evaluate its fault geometry and tectonic history. All of the available geophysical and geological data were compiled in three dimensions using the gOcad geomodeler. The geological and geophysical data were used to build a 3-D geological model of the Middle Durance region. The data on the 3-D geometry of fault surfaces and stratigraphic horizons and the thickness maps of the main stratigraphic units are supported by the 3-D geological model. We show that the Middle Durance Fault cannot be interpreted as a single fault plane that affected the entire Meso-Cenozoic sedimentary layers and the Paleozoic basement but as a listric segmented faulting system in sedimentary layers, rooted in Triassic evaporites and a normal block faulting system in the basement. This decoupling level in the Triassic layers reveals thin-skin deformation, formed by strong mechanical decoupling between the Mesozoic sedimentary cover and the Paleozoic basement. This study also confirms that the Provence geological structure has resulted mainly from Pyrenean deformation, which was partly reactivated by Alpine deformation. We demonstrate that the Middle Durance Fault Zone is a transfer fault that accommodates deformation of the sedimentary filling of the South-East Basin through modified fold geometry over a zone of 7 km to 8 km around the main segment of the fault zone.

Tectonic motions in oblique subduction forearcs: insights from the revisited middle and upper Pleistocene deposits of Rhodes (Greece)

Abstract: The sedimentary model of coastal deposits in eastern Rhodes over the last 2 Ma is refined and improved in accuracy. New field investigations and U/Th dating of Spondylus bivalve shells, combined with micropalaeontological and sedimentological data, allow the recognition of four synthems separated by major erosional surfaces. We present here evidence for two of these erosional surfaces. This new model allows the identification and quantification of the vertical movements recorded by the studied exposures. The history of these vertical motions is characterized by two periods of uplift and two periods of subsidence. Such an evolution is unique at the regional scale in the eastern Hellenic forearc. We interpret these results as reflecting the individualization of Rhodes as a single tectonic block during increasing trench bending. This trench bending is accommodated by an increase in the curvature of the forearc during the last 2 Ma. Supplementary material: U/Th dating on spondylid shells, index calcareous nannofossils and Khallithea and Faliraki Road sections are available at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.4211357